The A&M-UT football rivalry has been reduced to recruiting battles, and with a two-year jump, Kevin Sumlin currently has the edge on Charlie Strong

Aaron Sharp, center, of Summer Creek High School, plants a kiss on his mom, Kewanna Morris, while his sister, Ashley, 5, left, and step-father, Patrick Morris, right, look on after Sharp signed his letter-of-intent to play football at UCLA at the Humble ISD signing day event at the Humble Civic Center on Wednesday. less

Aaron Sharp, center, of Summer Creek High School, plants a kiss on his mom, Kewanna Morris, while his sister, Ashley, 5, left, and step-father, Patrick Morris, right, look on after Sharp signed his ... more

Photo: Jerry Baker, Freelance

Image 2 of 3

Dakota Allen, center, of Summer Creek High School, flanked by his mom, Stacey, left, and dad, Keith, gives the Texas Tech University sign after signing his letter-of-intent to play football for the Red Raiders during the Humble ISD signing day event at the Humble Civic Center on Wednesday. less

Dakota Allen, center, of Summer Creek High School, flanked by his mom, Stacey, left, and dad, Keith, gives the Texas Tech University sign after signing his letter-of-intent to play football for the Red Raiders ... more

Photo: Jerry Baker, Freelance

Image 3 of 3

A&M coach Kevin Sumlin, here presiding over warmups before the Aggies beat Duke 52-48 on Dec. 31 in the Chick-fil-A Bowl, followed up a 9-4 season by landing what is widely regarded as a top-five recruiting class. less

A&M coach Kevin Sumlin, here presiding over warmups before the Aggies beat Duke 52-48 on Dec. 31 in the Chick-fil-A Bowl, followed up a 9-4 season by landing what is widely regarded as a top-five recruiting ... more

Photo: Brett Coomer, Staff

Sumlin, A&M have present recruiting edge on Strong, UT

1 / 3

Back to Gallery

When the sun came up on national signing day, ESPN had Texas A&M ranked No. 2 in the country. By day's end, the Aggies had slipped to No. 4. Scout.com had them No. 5, and Rivals listed the Aggies at No. 6.

Yet most Aggies celebrated as if they had won a national championship.

Smart Aggies (keep that Aggie joke to yourself) weren't bothered at all by the slippage or non-first-place finish. A&M didn't lose on Wednesday; it won.

This all-important ranking means nothing and everything.

As former Texas coach Mack Brown used to say, national recruiting rankings aren't vital, but it is better to be near the top of such lists than near the bottom.

Brown spoke from experience. His classes were almost always among the best. Eventually, in February 2002, his group of signees was thought to be No. 1 by most, and four years later, it helped Texas win a national championship.

There are so many good football players in Texas that the school that wins the recruiting battle here should be a championship contender.

This year, that school is Texas A&M. Big-time.

The ranking services say more than half of A&M's 22 recruits rank as four- or five-star players (on a scale of one to five stars).

Translator

To read this article in one of Houston's most-spoken languages, click on the button below.

Do note that two years from now, the majority of these 17- and 18-year-olds analysts are gushing about will be deemed disappointments by the same people who deemed them so special in the first place. One shameful aspect of national signing day is every so-called five-star recruit who scores significantly more points in the classroom than on the football field will be put into that category.

No one knows if Lion King will end up being a great name in college football or just a great name. (Yeah, a kid named Lion King signed with Eastern Michigan, where former Texans receiver Kevin Walter attended school.)

Half of five-star recruits end up not even being drafted into the NFL. As J.J. Watt, the best defensive player in the NFL for the last two years, once reminded us with a hashtag on Twitter, he was a #Former2Star.

Still, it is a special day for thousands of teenagers whose dreams came true and whose hard work was rewarded with college scholarships.

And Wednesday was a special day for A&M, which received letters of intent from a number of players from whom it probably would not have drawn interest a few years ago. That includes two players who originally committed to Texas but changed their minds after Brown resigned.

That's what happens when a program sends a dynamic quarterback to the Heisman Trophy ceremony in back-to-back years. But A&M coach Kevin Sumlin is doing more than just riding the Johnny Football wave to shore.

Expanding the brand

A&M has won Texas - Texas has lost Texas (for now) - and A&M is making noise nationally.

"Our brand is expanding east and west," Sumlin said.

Despite not winning a title - division, conference or otherwise - A&M's current level of respect is something it has had on occasion over the years but should have maintained.

With a large, rabid fan base and willingness to invest significant money into the program - it is putting nearly $500 million into upgrading its facilities - A&M shouldn't have to convince others that it is among the big boys.

In Sumlin, the Aggies have the perfect coach for their recent renaissance.

As for that air of superiority in Longhorn Country, new UT head coach Charlie Strong has indeed inhaled.

Strong spurns 'gadgets'

When asked about Sumlin's reputation as being the cool coach who has gone to recruits' games in a helicopter dubbed the Swagcopter by A&M faithful, Strong didn't sound impressed.

"The university speaks for itself," Strong said. "We don't need gadgets. We're not going to be a gadget program."

Get a whiff of that, Aggies? No worries. Sumlin is hardly shaken.

This should be a fun rivalry between two sharp, aggressive and ultra-competitive coaches who are good at what they do.

As good a fit as Strong should be at UT, Sumlin is already that at A&M, thanks to a two-year head start. Then again, there was a time when recruiting analysts bragged about a couple of Dennis Franchione classes. Aggies celebrated.

Masterful with Manziel

Sumlin has already been better. He had a near-perfect touch with Johnny Manziel, allowing the gifted and previously unbridled quarterback to be all that he was while helping him become all he could be. Sumlin now is charged with handling a much-touted quarterback recruit, No. 1 in the country on most lists, who has scouts salivating over his potential.

Kyle Allen of Desert Mountain High in Scottsdale, Ariz., is among seven incoming Aggies already enrolled in school.

Trent Dilfer, an ESPN analyst who evaluates the Elite 11 quarterback competition, skewers many NFL quarterbacks but gives high praise to Allen, whom he describes as a "very, very gifted passer."

"You could put him in an NFL training camp tomorrow, and if you just watched the ball, you wouldn't know he was a 17-year-old kid," Dilfer said.

High praise, indeed.

For now, it is just talk.

Listen to "The Rush" with Jerome Solomon and Dave Tepper weekdays from noon-2 p.m. on ESPN 97.5 FM.